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Midori is the best friend anyone could ask for. As summer break approached Dr. Fantrain began to get more boarders and needed me to start coming in after school for a couple of hours and to work a few extra hours on the weekends. I knew the money would be nice and it would get me that much closer to getting my drum set, but I wasn’t sure I could let my family fend for themselves. Midori, who was at my house most of the time anyway and who had become a natural cook, stepped up and said that every day after school he would go to my house to do his homework and make the Slughorn’s dinner.

I protested at first but he insisted and told me that he wanted to help out. I knew that the biggest reason was to try and get close to Parley again, but I still felt bad that he wanted to take that on. After several discussions about it I told Dr. Fantrain that I would start putting in the extra hours.

The last couple weeks before summer break went by in a whirlwind. The days went along like this: Get up, have breakfast, go to school, go to Fantrain Farm and work for two to three hours, home to have dinner, hang out with Midori for a while, do homework and then to bed. The weekends were much of the same except for no school.

This may seem like my life was without fun, but that isn’t true. I was becoming really good on the drum and practiced everyday during my study hour. Midori, who was becoming quite popular in school, also had the same study hour and would come to the music room with me. We were also joined by Milly Lee, a stunning gal who had the biggest crush on Midori. She would come and listen to me play and flirt with Midori who had befriended her but tried to tell her he wasn’t interested in being more then friends. The girl, was relentless, and continued to do everything in her power to make Midori fall for her. Spending that much time with a beautiful, smart, friendly, and fun young lady I found myself crushing on her. I would try to show that I was interested but she never noticed and only treated me like a friend.

It was three days before the summer break and the three of us were hanging out in the music room. I had been experimenting with some drum beats when I decided to move forward and I started the down beat of “Don’t You Forget About Me” by Simple Minds. Half way through the song Midori began to sing the lyrics and what came out of his mouth was gold. I had known the kid for all these years and never knew he could sing.

“Oh my Simish.” Milly squawked. “I didn’t know you could sing.”

“I didn’t either.” I laid my drumsticks in my lap.

“I learned to sing when Parley was practicing for your mom’s funeral.” He lowered his head finding the floor really fascinating. The topic of my mom’s death or the funeral was always a touchy subject in the Slughorn household and Midori had learned to treat it with kid gloves.

Milly never liked it when Midori brought Parley up and she quickly changed the subject. “You two should form a band. I bet you could get some gigs around town. It would give you some extra spending money.” Her smile filled her face.

“Milly, I don’t have a drum set and I’m sure two people doesn’t make a band.” I said being the Donald Downer.

“Oh psssh, I’m sure my dad could loan you the rest of the money with a promise to pay him back after your first gig or two so that isn’t a problem. Midori you really do have a lovely voice you two should do this.” Milly’s voice turned into a whine and her face scrunched up making her normally beautiful face something truly horrific. Milly, although super generous and kind, came from the most wealthy family in Appaloosa Plains and she rarely took no for an answer.

“Eh…I’m not sure I really…..” Midori started, but I cut him off.

“I could really use the money.” I gave my best friend a look.

By the end of the period Midori had given in and agreed to be part of a band with me as long as it was something we did for fun to pick up a little extra money. Nothing more. Milly was in seventh heaven and as we walked out of the classroom she was already making plans in her head.

Just before school ended Milly had made good on her word. She got her dad to loan me the rest of the money for my drum set, she recruited Marquis Creech and Abram Hand to join our band as piano player and guitarist, and that is how the Southern Llamas became. She had also arranged our first gig which would be three weeks after summer started, so we had time to practice together as a band.

~~

The summer started out with a bang when one of the animals on Fantrain Farm got attacked by a wild dog that wandered into on the property, late in the night, and the two of them got into a scuffle. Dr. Fantrain was able to catch the dog, which he put in quarantine in hopes that the dog could be tamed, and called me in to help out with the injury. After that night he decided that he wanted me to learn from him, before I went off to school, the trade of being a veterinarian.

In addition to my normal responsibilities on the farm Dr. Fantrain would have me attend his exams. I was very grateful and I learned a lot from him. He took the time to explain what he was doing and why as well as the proper way to handle the animal that was being examined. It made me feel as if I was ahead of the learning curve.

With every new patient and lesson I knew that becoming a veterinarian was my life’s calling. I enjoyed the time with Dr. Fantrain as well as enjoyed the hands on learning. I was also becoming attached to the critters who lived on the farm and each held their own special place in my heart.

Fareed and I were becoming chummy. He didn’t like people to ride him, but since the first day I started he took a shine to me and it wasn’t long before he let me put a saddle on him and soon we were galloping around the property with Shoshone tagging along.

The cats Gilbert and Ms. Jezebel stole my heart with all their love and cuteness.

I enjoyed watching the dogs form their pack. When Bear was healing from his attack by the wild dog Cherry and Cleo stayed by his side. He and Cherry had gotten very close, close enough that I think we will have puppies roaming around the farm soon. Every day when we had to leave Cherry would whine softly for her pack and she was happy as a clam the next day when we would return. Dr. Fantrain worked with the wild dog, which we called Frostbite, and slowly he started to trust humans and finally we were able to incorporate him in with the others and he fit nicely in our little farm pack.

Dr. Fantrain even bought some chickens so we could start selling some fresh eggs to people around town.

~~

The three weeks went by fast and it was the day of our first paying gig. We found ourselves at my house at 10 am for one last rehearsal. None of us wanted to mess this up and we were all excited of the prospect of this continuing through the rest of the summer. During the past three weeks we found out that we were actually a decent band and were pumped to get the show on the road.

We were in the barn and had just finished practicing the song we had planned to end the night with when Milly, who attended just about every rehearsal, began gushing over Midori as usual.

“Oh Midori, you have the best voice in the world. I still think you should do this professionally.” Her voice laced with sugar.

“I told you Milly, I only am doing this to help out Pello and to get a little bit of extra spending money for school in the fall. ”

“But….”

“But Midori you are so flawless and I just have to stroke your ego every chance I get.” Came Parley’s mocking voice from the doorway. We all turned our heads in her direction. “Let’s not forget there are three other guys that make up the band.” She gave a smug look toward Milly and looked down at her nails.

“Parley….”I started, but Midori cut me off.

“It’s okay Pello.” He walked over to Parley and took her wrist, “Can I have a word please?”

As he dragged her away from us we could hear Parley chuckle, “Sure, It doesn’t appear I have a choice.”

PARLEY’S POV:

Midori pulled Me away from the rest of the group and spun me around to face him. “Parley Marie Slughorn your attitude has gotten out of control. You have no right to be jealous of Milly. No right at all.

“I…I…I’m not jealous of Blondie.”

“Please you can’t fool me. You may be able to fool your family, the kids at school and even yourself, but you can’t fool me. I know you better then you know yourself and it is eating you up that Milly is showing me attention.”

I looked at him defiantly and even gave him a smile, “You’re crazy. I just don’t like her. She is fake and stupid. There’s no crime in that.”

Midori grabbed my arms and pulled forward to ensure that I look at him when he said his next words. “Parley, you made the rules now you have to live by them. You pushed me away and told me you didn’t want anything to do with me despite all my attempts and attention. Milly and I aren’t together, but I have every right to move on, and if I choose to move on with Milly you have nothing to say about that.”

His words were like daggers to my heart. Tears stung my eyes but I fought them back. Pulling out of his grasp I stood there starring at him.

It felt like I couldn’t breathe and I couldn’t think. I stood there starring like a loon and then all at once my arm shot forward and I smacked Midori across the face.

I couldn’t believe what I had just done, but I couldn’t let him know I was sorry either. If I did that it would just show him that he is right and he isn’t right. He couldn’t be.

Rubbing his cheek he looked up at me. “Real mature Parley.” He voice wasn’t full of anger or disgust, but sadness and longing. I couldn’t handle this I couldn’t handle any of it so I turned on my heel and fled.

PELLO’S POV

We could hear the slap echo throughout the barn.

“Did she just slap him?” Milly’s voice was full of concern, we hadn’t been watching the arguing pair, but when we heard the noise we all looked up. Milly started to walking toward them as Parley fled the room. Midori turned toward us and we could see that his already red cheek was even redder. Milly lunged at him wrapping her arms around his neck. “Oh my Sims she did slap you. Are you okay?”

I took in a deep breath. Parley had been out of control these past few years, but hitting someone, hitting my best friend she had pushed the limits too far. “I have to go talk to her.”

“No, don’t worry about it dude. We talked, she had no other recourse. Just let it be.” Gently pushing Milly away from him he grabbed his mic. “Let’s practice the opening song one more time.”

That night we had our first gig and it was awesome. After our set the owner of the bar asked us to return on Thursday for ladies night and as long as we were continued to be received well then we would be booked every weekend for the rest of the summer.

We were all ecstatic about this, but Midori was just so far away.

~~

Weeks went by and our bad was becoming very popular. People around town started to recognize us and a few even asked for our autographs. Marques, Abram and I were eating up the attention but Midori was just along for the ride reminding me all the time he wasn’t doing this for more than being a friend to me and a few extra bucks.

The end of July arrived and Milly presented us with a gig. She told us her sister was getting married at the end of August and wanted to book our band, but was having doubts because there was no girl in the band. Her fiancée and her song was At Last by Etta James and she couldn’t have anyone but a woman sing that song. Milly had convinced her if The Southern Llamas could find a girl then she would hire us.

The only problem was…where do we find a good sounding girl that could fit in with us in such a short time?

Thank you everyone for reading. My legacy really, truly means the world to me even though I don’t update as often as I would like, so I appreciate you all stick with me through the long breaks.

Thank you so much to Logan from Logans Lotz of Lots for making the beautiful Fantrain farm. It is a home that the Slughorn’s will always find their way back to even if they move away for a bigger life.

SLUGHORN LEGACY
Generation 2: Pello Slughorn
Chapter Two: A Job and a Face From The Past

Oh good Sim Creator my sister is a teenager. Dad and I are going to be in a world of trouble now. Neither of us has the know-how to deal with an adolescent female let alone a back talking, bitter one.

Parley aged up beautifully; although her birthday was quite a sad sight. Dad and I, after reminding him several times that it was Parley’s birthday, stayed up late the night before decorating the dining room, making her a cake and wrapping her gifts. The plan was to have a great birthday breakfast and since it was also Saturday we would take her to the art museum. I thought she would like it because she liked to draw. However all my hard planning was a waist when she descended the stairs on her birthday, looked at the decorations, scrunched her noise, grabbed a banana and a orange and went back upstairs and shut herself in her room. I tried to get her out of her room several times, but she just didn’t want anything to do with us so dad and I went to the art museum and left her at home. At some point when we were gone she did gather her gifts. I just hope she liked them.

The weeks following her birthday she had become a scorpion; her attitude was the sting and her words were the venom. She was disrespectful and rude to dad and I most of the time. Dad didn’t seem to really notice it, wow what a shock, and I just couldn’t stand to be around her much. We had been in A.P. long enough for her to make friends, but she was always complaining about how stupid or hick she thought the kids in her class were. I was sick of her thinking she was better than everyone else and just her whole attitude. She become more isolated from people and family. I felt bad, but what could I do? I was her brother not her parent.

I allowed her to exist in her sullen, bleak world and I continued to do what I did and that was school, take care of the household and recently I had started learning how to play the drums in music class. I was getting pretty good and I had decided I wanted lessons, but when dad and I sat down to look at the budget we figured out that dad’s small catches were keeping the household afloat, but it didn’t allow for extra’s like music lessons and a drum set.

“I’m really sorry. I know you were keen on these lessons, but we just can’t swing it.” He was sincere, but he wouldn’t meet my eyes.

I wanted to scream at him that he needed to do more for this family, that he needed to be more responsible, but I kept my mouth shut. As hard as it was to be the “man” of the house I couldn’t image how I would act if the love of my life died. Everyone dealt with it differently, I just hopped that someday dad would be more connected again.

“Okay dad. Thanks for checking.” I was disappointed and upset and Cherry and I headed to my room. That night I decided that I would look for a part time job. If dad couldn’t buy me my drums and lessons I would do it myself. Until I could I could keep using the set in the music room to practice on during my free hour.

The following Saturday I got earlier then most Saturday’s and as I ate my bowl of cereal I perused the paper to see if there were any advertisements for jobs. The paper didn’t turn up any jobs, but I didn’t let that discourage me. As I left the house I saw my dad’s catch set out ready to be taken to the market. I grabbed the bucket and thought to myself that the market would be the perfect place to start looking for a job. With a smile on my face I set off for town.

That evening I came home as the sun sank beyond the land. I was exhausted and jobless. I had filled out about a dozen applications and everyone of them told me that they would put it on file, but currently they weren’t hiring. I felt slightly discouraged, but I wasn’t going to give up. I wanted that drum set very badly. So I decided that the following weekend I would try again. I would have tried on Sunday, but I was taking Cherry to the park for a day of Frisbee and fun.

The next morning after breakfast I packed my backpack a clicked the leash onto Cherry’s collar and we set off to the park. It was one of my free days where I wasn’t taking care of others needs and I wanted it to last so Cherry and I took a new route to the park. It was such a good choice the walk was beautiful and the sun felt great.

We came upon a farmhouse and I noticed a sign at the end of the driveway that said “Hiring”. I looked at Cherry and thought what the heck it wouldn’t hurt to see what kind of work is needing to be done. We started up the driveway and when I saw an elderly made working in a very plush apple orchard I told Cherry to sit and stay and started to approach the man.

The older man heard me and turned from his chore. “No no…bring your dog with you young man.” He called to me.

I patted my leg and Cherry ran to my side and the man met us half way. Bending down he allowed Cherry to smell his hand before he ran his thin fingers through the fur of her head. “Beautiful dog you have.” He stood up smiling.

“Thank you. ” I puffed my chest out with pride.

“So how can I help you today son?” He pushed his glasses up his nose.

“Um…I saw your sign and thought I would ask what kind of work you have available.” I’m normally not a nervous person, but there was something about him that made me want to impress him and I felt as if I was doing anything but impressing him.

“Ah…good good. Well my name is Dr. Wilmont Fantrain and I’m a veterinarian. I own the clinic down town, but here I run an animal boarding house and rescue. I also live here. I’m looking for a trustworthy person to help me out around here cleaning horse stalls, feeding and walking the dogs, grooming and caring for the cats as well as the other animals we have here. I have one assistant here, her name is Kora, but we find ourselves obtaining more and more animals so I need more help. “

I raked my hands through my messy hair. “What are the hours?”

Dr. Fantrain stroked his chin as he thought about it. “Most weekends for sure, but I may need you at times during the week. Are you interested?”

I looked over at Cherry worried about leaving her every weekend. The weekends were normally our time and we both treasured that time.

“Does your dog get along with other animals?” Dr. Fantrain asked.

“For the most party she does.” There was one time, soon after I got her, that she got into a little scrap with a stray dog who tried to sleep in her doghouse.

Crossing his arms over his chest he gave me another smile. His smile was comforting and made you feel at ease. “What is your dog’s name?”

“Cherry Tree, but I call her Cherry.”

“Well Ms. Cherry would be welcome to come with you on the weekends. It would be nice for the other animals to be exposed to other animals. This is if you are interested in the job.”

I was interested. I loved animals and this sounded like the perfect job for me. Granted cleaning up horse doo-doo and dog doo-doo wasn’t on my top ten things to do, but this could lead into bigger opportunities and would be a chance to learn from Dr. Fantrain. Ever since I got Cherry I had thought about become a veterinarian and now I was talking to one about a job. It seems like luck was turning my way.

“Do I need to fill out an application or something?”

“Nah, we are very informal here. So can you start next Saturday?”

“Um…yes but can I ask what I will get paid?”

Dr. Fantrain told me what he paid and that payday was every Friday. We shook hands and I left with a promise to see him the following weekend. With a sense of accomplishment Cherry and I finished our walk to the park.

The park was great and the whole day I felt like I was on cloud nine.

~~

All week I had been looking forward to Saturday and getting one step closer to my dreams. I made sure all my homework was done on Friday night and went to bed early. Nothing was going to stop me from doing a good job.

The day was full of hard work and it was long, but also a lot of fun. I learned that Dr. Fantrain was a widower. His wife had died five years prior in a car accident. Ever since he had surrounded himself with the things he loved to remind him that life is happy, but short. He opened up his property as a boarding center for animals about a year after his wife’s death, and the residences of A.P. took well to it leaving their pets in his care when they went out of town for holiday’s or long weekends. However, when people started to report strays and abandoned pets around town he began to take them in and care for them. The place ran on donations and his money from the clinic.

The weekend I started there weren’t any borders so I spent the time working and getting to know the residents of Fantrain Farm. I cared for Fareed the horse as Kora brushed Shoshone the unicorn.

I played with Gilbert cat while Ms. Jezebel rolled around in her bed; all the while Cherry made sure she was always close by.

Bear and Cleo were happy to meet Cherry and I.

That weekend I had the best time I had had since moving to A.P. and I looked forward to working for Dr. Fantrain as long as I could.

~~

Life returned to a routine. During the week I was in school working hard and then home to take care of my family and spend time with Cherry and most days Skype or email with Midori, and on the weekends I was found on the Fantrain farm working hard and having the time of my life.

About three weeks after I started working I got home a little early on a Sunday afternoon and decided to make something special for dinner. Normally it was something quick and easy because I was so tired after work. I was cutting up the vegetables when I heard the doorbell ring. I knew Parley was in the living room watching some dark cartoon so I yelled out at her, “Parley, get the door.”

I heard her drag her feet to the door and open it. I could hear low murmurs and a moment later she yelled back, “Pello!”

Laying the knife down and exited the kitchen and as I walked past my sister I said, “Could you have been more rude?”

“Oh probably.” Was her reply before she ran up the stairs to her room. I heard her door slam as I got to the front door.

“I’m sorry about my sis….” I stopped cold as I saw who it was.

“Midori, man what are you doing here?”

“Nice greeting Dude. Are you going to invite me in?” Midori laughed.

I leaned forward and gave my best friend a half hug and ushered him into the house.

“You weren’t kidding about Parley were you?” He scratched the back of his neck and gave me a concerned look.

“No Man, I wasn’t.” I lead him into the kitchen so I could continue dinner. “So what are you doing here and why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”

He leaned up against the counter and grabbed a carrot. “My dad put in for a transfer at work two months ago and on Friday we moved here after his request was finally accepted.”

“Old man sour requested to move here? Why?” I was dumbfounded Mr. Sour wasn’t the friendliness guy around and he seemed pretty content in Riverview.

“Believe it or not my dad has changed some. I asked if his job had a location in or around Appaloosa Plains. When I found out that there was a location here I begged and pleaded for him to put in for a transfer, and finally I wore him out and he did. I didn’t tell you because I wanted it to be a surprise.” He popped another carrot in his mouth.

“Well it is great to have you here buddy. Are you staying for dinner?”

Midori nodded his head. “So Pello, what are we going to do about Parley?”